Hi Autumn. I don't think it's your CV. If you are applying to AA-AAA studios, your work needs to be at a higher standard. I recommend hopping on to Artstation and start searching for recently hired junior artists. Examine their portfolio's to see what the bar is and take the time to identify what areas you can improve upon to reach that bar. It's a long and bumpy road and this forum is littered with recent graduates asking this same question only to be told to keep on working. Oftentimes, a college simply won't prepare you enough and tend to give student's the false impression they will be hireable by getting a piece of paper. Don't let it shake you though. I highly suggest having a read through these articles -
Also, I'd recommend getting active within art communities, be it here or on Dinusty's / No More Grid discord servers. They are very warm places that will have folks willing to help push you if you show the consistent effort to improve.
When you think you're ready for that extra push to level up, I can recommend online learning through CGMA or Think Tank Online. I enjoyed my time with both and would definitely take another CGMA course in the future.
Same advice as above. Go on Artstation. People are on there, very active, every day. Recruiters are on there and they know the platform. And you don't have to waste any time building a website.
Depends on what or where you want to work but even for indies this might not bet good enough yet. Imo you should focus on fewer but bigger assets that reflect where you want to go with your art or where you want to work. Identify your weaknesses by asking others (for example here on polycount)
Personally I like the Space Capsule most because of the amount of details and the complexity of modelling but it would require some nice materials, scene setup and presentation too.
Presentation is a bit of an issue with your work. The weakest part is lighting. Nothing seems very bedded in or solid and that makes it all look worse than it really is at first glance.
The next thing to think about is making the environments look lived in - the bedroom race track is a cool idea but it doesn't look like a bedroom that's had a racetrack added. The shelves are empty, I don't see evidence that a kid has been in there before the track was built etc.
Large scale composition is often under-emphasised which is a shame because that's the art part of game art.
Hey, just wanted to say that I have been exactly where you are. I graduated with a minimal portfolio of a pretty low standard... OK really low. Obviously I wasn't going to get hired. I ended up working for my university for a bit, doing a small contract for a researcher. In my free time I tried to improve but really struggled working alone. I ended up watching lots of Twitch art streams and picking up as much as I could about the game art pipeline, high poly to low, compositions, colour etc etc... I got lucky and got onto a Masters course in Animation (and I got a scholarship along with 90% of my class!) There I learnt more in 1 year than I did at 4 during my undergrad. I worked hard, did lots of work in my spare time. I graduated and still didn't have an amazing portfolio. So I took a part time job in a pub and kept working. The only reason I snagged an internship with a games company was because I had some generalist knowledge and interviewed well but that doesn't work for AAA specialised roles.
Sorry, that was a lot. Anyway, moral of the story is work hard and keep applying! Don't get discouraged. Keep trying new things, learn a new technique, a new workflow. Record your process of one project, then look back on it and see at what points you struggled and where you can improve. And yes, move your portfolio to ArtStation, my boss sits on ArtStation for hours a day looking for talent.
Just a quick thing too, I'm not a massive fan of how your CV is arranged on the website, it's difficult to see the difference between job title and job description, I think it could do with some breathing space. Also, I didn't think UK universities did GPA, just seems a bit odd
If companies dont reply it means you are not there yet, your portfolio has a lot of unfinished work. Always think quality above quantity, I know a couple of people that got hired because of one or two very good pieces they had. Good luck and never give up!
Replies
https://www.polygon-academy.com/10-insider-tips-for-artists-applying-to-game-studios/
https://www.polygon-academy.com/why-your-portfolio-needs-to-be-on-artstation/
Also, I'd recommend getting active within art communities, be it here or on Dinusty's / No More Grid discord servers. They are very warm places that will have folks willing to help push you if you show the consistent effort to improve.
When you think you're ready for that extra push to level up, I can recommend online learning through CGMA or Think Tank Online. I enjoyed my time with both and would definitely take another CGMA course in the future.
Your art needs more work to get a job at a AAA Studio (if that's your goal). So keep working hard!
Check out this thread -> https://polycount.com/discussion/187512/recently-hired-in-aaa-show-us-your-portfolio
Your work needs to be on that quality level at least so people notice you. Hope this helps! Also, feel free to ask for feedback on your work
Imo you should focus on fewer but bigger assets that reflect where you want to go with your art or where you want to work.
Identify your weaknesses by asking others (for example here on polycount)
Personally I like the Space Capsule most because of the amount of details and the complexity of modelling but it would require some nice materials, scene setup and presentation too.
Presentation is a bit of an issue with your work.
The weakest part is lighting. Nothing seems very bedded in or solid and that makes it all look worse than it really is at first glance.
The next thing to think about is making the environments look lived in - the bedroom race track is a cool idea but it doesn't look like a bedroom that's had a racetrack added. The shelves are empty, I don't see evidence that a kid has been in there before the track was built etc.
Large scale composition is often under-emphasised which is a shame because that's the art part of game art.
Sorry, that was a lot. Anyway, moral of the story is work hard and keep applying! Don't get discouraged. Keep trying new things, learn a new technique, a new workflow. Record your process of one project, then look back on it and see at what points you struggled and where you can improve. And yes, move your portfolio to ArtStation, my boss sits on ArtStation for hours a day looking for talent.
Just a quick thing too, I'm not a massive fan of how your CV is arranged on the website, it's difficult to see the difference between job title and job description, I think it could do with some breathing space. Also, I didn't think UK universities did GPA, just seems a bit odd